Victor, N.Y. – Robert Morris University senior attackman Ryan Smith broke the program single-game record for points (10) and tied it for goals (8) as the Colonials exploded for 22 tallies in a 22-10 rout of Canisius this afternoon in non-conference play from Pinnacle Athletic Campus.
Smith's record afternoon headlined an all-around dream season opener for two-time Northeast Conference (NEC) reigning champion Robert Morris (1-0, 0-0 NEC), whose 22 goals were the most to begin a campaign since Feb. 20, 2010 (W, 24-17 at Penn State). Altogether, seven different Colonials found the scoresheet, with Austin Popovich (5g, 2a) and Taggart Clark (3g) also recording hat tricks.
The Colonials more than doubled up Canisius (0-2, 0-0 MAAC) in shots, 60-27, and went a perfect 19-of-19 on clear attempts. Trey Arnold dominated at the face-off X, going 17-21 with a team-best 12 groundballs.
It was Popovich who would get it started for the visitors, burying back-to-back goals before Smith's first made it 3-0 midway through the first quarter. Mike Penna stopped the bleeding briefly for the Golden Griffins, but Smith added his second to make it 4-1 after 15 minutes.
After Daniel Balawejder cut the lead in half at 4-2, RMU torched the hosts with eight unanswered goals over the course of the second and third frames. Smith netted his hat trick to kick it off, followed by consecutive tallies by Brad McCulley – one being a man-up goal. Popovich added his third with 3:07 to play in the half, and Kyle Vince made it 9-2 at the break with his second collegiate score.
Two more Smith goals sandwiched one from Clark, extending the gap to 12-2 with 5:25 left in the third stanza. Canisius ripped the net 20 seconds later to halt its scoreless stretch of 24:46, but RMU rattled off a 5-2 run over the a span of 4:02 to carry a 17-5 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Smith's record tally came with 3:46 to go, with Bryce Henise finding him on a man-up opportunity to make it 22-7. The hosts would finish with three goals over the final 3:02 to set the final.
Making his Colonial debut, junior goaltender Ben Savick earned the win in net by stopping six of eight shots in 30 minutes of action. Savick previously started 27 contests at Palm Beach Atlantic University before transferring to RMU.
Brandon Sulhoff and McCulley each potted a pair of goals offensively. Arnold added two assists from the X.
Clark's three tallies were the first of his career. Henise (a) and Matt McShea (g) also collected their first collegiate points.
Smith's performance topped the nine-point efforts of Jake Hayes and Luke Laszkiewicz (twice). The eight goals matched Laszkiewicz's tally from April 19, 2016 at Canisius.
Robert Morris continues a three-game swing away from Moon Township on Sunday, Feb. 23 at noon when it plays Jacksonville at the U.S. Lacrosse Headquarters.
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